The Ennio Morricone Anthology: A Fistful of Film Music

AllMusic Review
by Richie Unterberger

Whittling the output of a composer with approximately 500 soundtracks to his credit down to two CDs rules out the possibility of a truly definitive career retrospective. Still, with 45 tracks spanning the mid-'60s to the early '90s, this is the best Morricone compilation of its sort available, though Film Music Vol. 1 & 2 certainly have a lot of worthwhile material. Disc one is dominated by highlights from the '60s soundtracks, particularly the spaghetti Westerns, that remain his most famous; disc two is more eclectic, with a greater concentration of both his orchestral works and compositions utilizing a greater variety of electronic instruments, although the hints of electro-pop and Europop on some of the tracks can be aggravating. Comes with an excellent 36-page booklet of biographical liner notes.